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Home Health & Hospice Week

Human Resources:

5 Tips Help You Steer Clear of Sharps Injuries

Published on Wed Apr 21, 2010

Don't stick with this No. 1 bad habit known to cause injuries. Prevention is the best remedy for needlestick and other sharps injuries, which can be largely avoided if you follow these key strategies. 1. Know the ropes for safely disposing of sharps. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration "requires you to put the needle and syringe together in the" sharps container, says Terry Jo Gile, a safety expert in Ft. Myers, Fla. She also notes that OSHA requires you to close and dispose of sharps containers when they are three-fourths full. Most containers have a line on the label indicating the point beyond which they should not be filled, adds Dennis Ernst, director of the Center for Phlebotomy Education in Corydon, Ind. An accident waiting to happen: "Nurses should not allow sharps containers to overfill," stresses Ernst. He recounts, in fact, that he got stuck by a contaminated needle [...]
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